Busy days ahead

I made just some cursory mention of the Penang Heritage City open chess championship and the Sarawak open championship here in last week’s column without giving any details. 

In order that readers may start preparing themselves to participate in one or possibly both of these internationally-rated tournaments, here are some salient points that would-be participants should take note of.

First, the Penang Chess Association will hold the Penang Heritage City open at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel in Penang on Dec 6 to 10. There will be two rounds daily except for the final day which will see only one round. This is therefore a nine-round event with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

The championship will be separated into the open and the challenger tournaments, with the challenger event limited to players with FIDE ratings of not more than 2000 points or Malaysian ratings of 1750 points or below. 

There are altogether 26 prizes for the open tournament which include minor prizes for the best lady and five best PCA players. The top three prizes are RM5,000, RM2,500 and RM1,500 respectively. The challenger event will have 14 prizes with a RM500 winner’s purse. The first and second runners-up will receive RM300 and RM250 respectively. Medals are also awarded to the top five players in the under-eight, under-10 and under-12 age groups.

Entry fees for the open tournament: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

For the challenger tournament, entry fees are RM50 (members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. All inquiries should be directed to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). There is also more information at http://penangchess.com

As for the Sarawak open, this internationally-rated event will be played at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. This is also a nine-round event with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

There will be two rounds every day except for the last day when only a single round is played. There are 10 main prizes with the champion set to receive RM2,500 and a trophy. The runners-up will receive RM1,500 and a trophy, while the third prize is RM800 and a trophy. In addition, the Sarawak Chess Association is offering special prizes for players in the under-16, under-14, under-12, under-10 and under-eight age groups.

Entry fees are RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

More details are available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association will hold this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. Six rounds, time control of 15 to 40 minutes per game, depending on the age group. 

The first of the five events, for players under seven years old, will be played this Sunday. On Oct 30, the under-nine event will be played; on Nov 6, it will be the under-11 tournament; and on Nov 13, the under-13 event is scheduled. The under-15 and under-17 events on Nov 20 will wrap up the championship.

All the five events will be played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees are RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Frank Goon Cup

The Johor Chess Association will organize their Johor chess open tournament for the Frank Goon Cup on Oct 30. Venue will be the Level 35 of the Office Tower City Square in Johor Bahru. Depending on the number of players, there will be either six or seven rounds. Time control is 25 minutes per game.

Prizes are offered to winners in the open, under-16, under-12 and ladies categories. Entry fees: RM20 (open), RM10 (players below 16 years old). Closing date is Oct 24. For more details, contact Steven Cheong (016.7202272, steven52s@gmail.com) or Dinesh (014.6115256).

RSC rapid play

The chess section of the Royal Selangor Club will hold their annual RSC rapid play open tournament at their club premises in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Seven rounds, with the first three rounds on Oct 30 and the final four rounds on Nov 6. Apart from the prizes in the open section, there are also other prizes for the best under-13, under-11, under-9, veteran and lady players. Time control is 25 minutes per game, subject to final confirmation. 

Entry fees for RSC members: RM30 (single player), RM25 (family discount for two or more family members). For non-RSC members: RM40 (single player), RM30 (family discount for two or more family members). For more information, contact Wahid (016.3283160, awkarim@gmail.com) or Ajeet (012.2121372, ajeet@pc.jaring.my) before Oct 28.

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held at the Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town, Penang on Dec 3 and 4. The two-day team event, organized by the Penang 

Chess Association, is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve player. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Giant Tampoi chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, The Giant Hypermarket Tampoi and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing their second Giant Tampoi junior chess tournament for under-16 and under-12 category players on Nov 13. 

Venue is the Giant Hypermarket at Tampoi, Johor. Seven rounds, 25 minutes time control. Entry fees are RM15 (under-16 players) and RM12 (under-12 players). Closing date is Nov 11. Call Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com) for more details.

 

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organize the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Entries will close on Nov 4. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the Malaysian Chess Federation (msianchess2010@gmail.com).

 

Tournament ends on high note

WHEN I set out to organise the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament two months ago, one of the main objectives was to provide an opportunity for local players to achieve international master title norms.

There was no lack of title aspirants in this tournament. Apart from Mas Hafizulhilmi who was already an international master, there were five other local players who were hopeful of playing well enough to get their norms.

Unfortunately, in an event of this kind where none of the players can be considered a pushover, not everyone would be able to realise this target. Exemplary play would have to be the order of the day, and the players would have to sort it out themselves over the chess board to see who was best qualified to gain the title norm.

I had written two weeks ago that if there was anyone who could earn an international master title norm, Mok Tze Meng would be a prime candidate. As the tournament progressed, Mok proceeded to show that I was correct in my prediction.

He had a very encouraging game in the first round against Wynn Zaw Htun, stretching the Myanmar player into a long drawn endgame before they finally agreed to a draw. In the second round, Mok made short work of national champion Jonathan Chuah and continued with another win in the third round against Ng Tze Han.

Two draws then followed against Myo Naing, an international master (IM) from Myanmar, and IM Mas Hafizulhilmi before he suffered a defeat at Chinese IM Liu Wenzhe's hands. It was a loss which could have been avoided if Mok had not been overly ambitious. A safe draw against the Chinese would have seen him on an easier track towards the title norm.

Instead, Mok found Lim Chuin Hoong very determined to stop him in the seventh round. However, he managed to avoid complications when he successfully negotiated an early simplification of the position. Lim tried hard but could not win and in the end, he had to concede defeat to Mok.

In the eighth round, despite spirited play by Wong Zijing, Mok managed to pocket the full point. Finally, Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah's offer of a draw in the ninth round was sufficient for Mok to reach the target of six points which was the requirement for the international master title norm in this tournament.

Amidst all the excitement over a Malaysian player getting this norm was the fact that another player had also played well enough to get a similar norm. Seventeen-year-old Wynn Zaw Htun, who came into this tournament with an impressively high rating of 2,524, played solidly enough to score six points.

He had a slow start in this event: a draw with Mok in the first round was followed by a loss to Ardiansyah. But then Wynn beat Chuah in the third round, drew with Ng, Myo and Mas in the fourth to sixth rounds, and then unleashed a victory against Liu in the seventh round. Wynn put in a final spurt in the last two rounds of the tournament by defeating Lim and Wong to achieve his norm.

The nine-day tournament, sponsored by Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd and played at the CitiTel Penang, was won by Mas Hafizulhilmi. This was my first opportunity to see Mas Hafizul play in an international event and I was suitably impressed with his confidence and preparation. He made all his games seem rather effortless.

He was particularly deadly against the foreign competitors and he scored victories against Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo. Wynn was the only player to give Mas Hafizul some initial difficulties but the draw was never in doubt.

He was generous with the local players at the start of the event but towards the end when it became clear that some could no longer get their norms, Mas Hafizul moved into higher gear and mopped up everyone else.

Gone are the days when the foreigners can beat our players at will--as proven by the results of this tournament. Our players are on par with the foreign players. Otherwise, how would you explain the performances of the foreign players?

Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo obviously did not play at their very best levels or else they would not have suffered embarrassing losses to our own players.

In the fourth round, Ardiansyah went down to a shock defeat at the hands of Chuah; and one round later, Wong defeated Liu. Ng's high point in the tournament was when he beat Myo in the seventh round.

Anyway, it would be too presumptous to dismiss the foreigners for not trying hard enough. I know they did try very hard. In the second round, for instance, Ardiansyah pulled himself together to defeat Wynn in a delicate endgame position. In the final round, Liu piled a lot of pressure on Ng's position but failed to make a breakthrough and had to agree to a draw.

The tournament homepage is located at http://www.geocities.com/pg-chess/WahSeong2000/index.html

UP NEXT

BPM Allegro events

Readers wishing to take part in the Penang leg of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia national allegro chess circuit this Sunday are reminded that today is the closing date for entries.

The entry fees are RM10 for members of the Penang Chess Association, Bank Pertanian employees, players above 50 years old and girls below 12 years old, and RM15 for other participants.

To register for the event, contact Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596), Eoh Hook Kim ( 04-826 0196; e-mail: hkeoh@tm.net.my) or Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316; e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my). Participants are required to turn up at Kolej Damansara Utama in Anson Road, Penang, at 8am on Sunday.

The other legs of the BPM allegro series in the next couple of months are: Pahang leg on March 25 (contact Wan Abdullah 09-583 3205), Sabah leg on March 26 (Sylvester Asai 088-764 305), Kelantan leg on April 8 (Nizam Hamzah 09-790 9870), Malacca leg on April 15 (Eugene Kong 06-232 1018) and Kuala Lumpur leg on April 23 (Ibrahim Yaacob 03-636 3082).

Perak Grand Prix

Next weekend will be a busy time for the Perak International Chess Association which will be holding their annual general meeting at 9am on March 19 at Sek Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh. In conjunction with this meeting, a two-day chess competition has been planned.

The first event is a continuation of the Perak chess grand prix for their Category A players who are locally rated above 1,700. The top prize for this event is RM150, so anyone wishing to take part should be present at Sek Tuanku Abdul Rahman by 2pm on March 18. A separate one-day Category B event for players below 1,700 will be held at the same place beginning 10.30am on March 19.

Both are six-round tournaments. The time control for the Category A event is one hour, while that for the Category B tournament is 25 minutes. For more details, call W.K. Wong ( 05-366 1692).

Shah Alam open

The Selangor Library will organise the Shah Alam open tournament over four days from March 26 to 29 at the Radisson Hotel in Shah Alam. The event, sponsored by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, will feature total prize money of RM5,000.

The tournament will be divided into five categories, with each category being played on different days. The under-12 category will be contested on March 26; the entry fee is RM10 per player. On March 26 and 27, the open and student categories will be held. Entry fees are RM25 and RM15 respectively. For these events, the games will start at 2pm on the first playing date.

The under-12 team tournament will be played on March 28 while on March 29, the under-18 team tournament will be held. Entry fees are RM40 and RM60 respectively. For more details, call Hashim (03-559 7667).

National Age-Group championship

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organise the second Bank Rakyat national age-group chess championship at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on April 1 and 2.

Entry fees are RM15 for the under-18, under-16 and under-14 events, and RM10 for the under-12, under-10 and under-8 events. Entries will be accepted until March 31. For details contact Hamid Majid ( 03-402 19576; e-mail: aham@pc.jaring.my)

Winners of the various age-group events will be considered for qualification to the world age-group chess championship in Spain this October or November.

 

10 to slug it out

TODAY is the eve of the nine-day Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament. All hostilities over the chess board will begin tomorrow at the CitiTel Penang and continue daily until March 5.

The past two months had been very trying for me as I had to cope with the organising of this event. Luckily, I had the full support of Datuk Tan Chin Nam, honorary life president of the Malaysian Chess Federation, and the assistance of friends in the chess circle, without whom my task would have been very difficult.

For instance, there was the selection of foreign players. World Chess Federation (Fide) regulations require that at least one-third of players at an international master event must be foreigners. For a 10-player event, I needed four.

Initially, I had shortlisted grandmaster Ardiansyah from Indonesia, Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe, Indonesian international master Nasib Ginting, and Myanmar Fide master Maung Maung Lwin.

However, Ginting, who for the past year had been in Malaysia, could no longer be contacted while Maung had commitments elsewhere. But Maung offered to arrange for two highly-rated players from Myanmar to play, thus I now have their international master Myo Naing and untitled Wynn Zaw Htun.

The only thing left to do was wait and see whether the four foreigners would accept this invitation to play. As a standby, I have Singapore's international master Giam Choo Kwee who could come at very short notice.

It was a long wait, especially with the Chinese player. I received a message from Beijing that Liu's passport needed renewal and he would have to apply for a visa from the Malaysian Embassy in China. Compounding this problem was the long lunar festival in China when it was almost impossible to get in touch with many people. Luckily, the problem quickly sorted itself out after a few frantic phone calls to friends in Kuala Lumpur.

Another major task was to select local players for this event. From the onset, our international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Jimmy Liew are automatic choices for two of the six places.

The criterion for selecting the other four was simple. The Penang Chess Association would nominate two of their players while the remaining two would be selected by going down the latest Fide rating list. Local players who were overseas or had retired from playing were automatically scratched.

Aaron Yee was the first consideration but he declined from playing due to his school work. This left the field open to Fide master Wong Zijing and national master Jonathan Chuah, and they duly accepted the offer to play.

As for the Penang Chess Association nominations, Ng Tze Han and Lim Chuin Hoong were clearly the best choices.

Soon after invitations had been sent out, it occurred to me that Mok Tze Meng would be a good addition to this event if there were more places available. After all, Mok is a very experienced player, next in line in the Fide rating list after Jonathan Chuah. If there is anyone who could earn an international master norm, Mok would be a prime candidate.

Malaysian Chess Federation's Tan gave the okay for me to expand the field to its maximum 12 players. It should have been a 12-man event in the first place, but I was working within a budget. After referring to Fide regulations, I concluded that it is legitimate to have an 11-man event or the first four games played over two days.

(Fide regulations allow for a maximum two rounds per day for an international master result. For a grandmaster result, there can be no more than two days of two rounds each but definitely not in the final three rounds.)

A peculiar number, I must admit, but there were also two other reasons for staying with 11 players. For one thing, this event would be played without a rest day and I believe the players would welcome having a round during which they can relax.

The other reason was, despite confirmation from all the local players that they would play, there was a possibility someone would withdraw later. Call it intuition if you like, but Jimmy Liew later informed me that he was withdrawing due to his unavoidable work commitments.

So there I was, down to 10 players, the original number that I started out with. All the players are arriving today but I will not be able to rest completely until I see them all!

With these 10 players, the tournament is now a Category Five. To qualify for an international master result, our Fide master and untitled players must score at least six points from nine games.

I do not think it is an insurmountable target. Gone are the days when the foreigners can whip our players at will; our players can at least be their equals now.

It is not very often that an international chess event of this sort is held in Malaysia. I sincerely hope that chess enthusiasts, even those from outside Penang, can make it a point to visit the CitiTel Penang from tomorrow until March 5 to see these players in action. The playing times are from noon to 7pm daily at the hotel's Bayan Room.

Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd is the sponsor of this event, while the CitiTel Penang is the official hotel for the tournament.

For readers with Internet access, you can follow the progress of the tournament at www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379/WahSeong2000/index.html

Chinese demo

In conjunction with the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament, the Penang Chess Association is arranging for Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe to give some simultaneous chess displays to schools in Penang and selected members of the association.

Tentatively lined up is a simultaneous chess display to 30 students on March 7, a clock simultaneous chess match with six senior members of the PCA on March 8, and a second clock simultaneous chess match with six top junior players on March 9.

All these programmes are scheduled for the evenings starting at 7pm. Students who wish to play against the Chinese international master on March 7 should contact Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316 / e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my) or Khor Bean Hwa ( 04-658 1662 / e-mail: shihong@pl.jaring.my). The fee is RM2 per student.

UP NEXT

March 12: The Penang Chess Association will hold the Penang leg of the second Bank Pertanian Malaysia allegro grand prix at the Kolej Damansara Utama premises in Jalan Anson.

The event will consist of six rounds and there is a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of this prize fund will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for the minor winners such as the best women, under-16 or under-12 players.

Entry fees are RM10 for adults and RM5 for junior players. Closing date is March 10. Late entries will not be accepted. There is also a cap at a maximum of 100 players.

For registration, contact Eoh Hook Kim ( 04-826 0196 / e-mail: hkeoh@tm.net.my), Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316 / e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my) or Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596). Registered players are required to turn up at KDU by 8am on March 12.

Intriguing tournament

THE Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament is set to become one of the most intriguing tournaments ever organised in this country. Slated to begin in 15 days' time, the tournament will feature a group of experienced, highly-regarded foreign chess players facing off against what is considered to be the cream of Malaysian chess players.

Led by two veterans--Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah and Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe--the foreign chess masters are obviously not interested in having a holiday here.

They are well-known for their fierce competitive spirit, so the other participants had better be well-prepared when they sit down to face the Indonesian and the Chinese across the chessboard.

Ardiansyah was one of the very first Asians to become a grandmaster. When he was at the height of his playing powers in the 70s and 80s, he could claim to be among Indonesia's top three players.

Datin Rebecca Tan, wife of the late Datuk Tan Kim Yeow, former chairman
of Wah Seong group of companies, presenting a mock cheque to Datuk Toh
Kin Woon, Penang State executive councillor and president of the Penang
Chess Association. Looking on is Pauline Tan, Wah Seong director.

However, the emergence of new players in the last decade has gradually sidelined him. With a World Chess Federation rating of 2396, Ardiansyah is presently ranked 10th in Indonesia. He remains active in chess circles there and is still capable of delivering a few stings.

Interestingly, China's Liu Wenzhe is in a similar situation as his Indonesian counterpart. In the late 70s, he was considered the strongest player in China but now, with an international rating of 2451, he is ranked only 25th in his country. But his exploits are almost legendary. Till today, Liu is held in awe, especially for his celebrated victory over the late Dutch grandmaster Jan Donner during the Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad in 1978.

At that time, China was just making its presence felt in international chess circles, so it was inconceivable to many that Donner could lose to an unknown player. Yet, in the China-Netherlands game, Liu completely smashed Donner's defence and capped the game with a queen sacrifice that rippled through the Olympiad.

The two other foreign players invited to the tournament are from Myanmar. Myo Naing is an international master with a rating of 2545 while Wynn Zaw Htun, although untitled, still has a high rating of 2524.

On the Malaysian side, we have our two international masters who are expected to lead the challenge: Mas Hafizulhelmi, who is rated 2413, and Jimmy Liew, whose rating is 2325. Others who have confirmed their participation are Fide master Wong Zijing (rated 2324), Jonathan Chuah (rated 2271), Mok Tze Meng (rated 2270), Ng Tze Han (rated 2216) and Lim Chuin Hoong (rated 2214).

It will be interesting to follow the fortunes of our local, untitled players in this event as all of them will certainly aspire to play well enough to gain their first international master title norms. If any of them achieves the norm, it is by no means a guarantee that they will have the title but, nevertheless, it will be the first of several stepping stones towards becoming a master.

At Wednesday's cheque presentation ceremony in Penang, Datin Rebecca Tan of the Wah Seong Group of Companies presented a cheque of RM40,000 to Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon, State Executive Councillor and president of the Penang Chess Association (PCA). The Wah Seong Group are the sponsors of the tournament while CitiTel Penang is the official hotel.

Busy year ahead for local chess

If this year's chess calendar--released recently by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF)--is anything to go by, it promises to be a year jam-packed with activities for chess enthusiasts of all playing levels.

It's only the second month of the new year but both the Chess Association of Selangor and the Perak International Chess Association have already held a few programmes for their members.

From this month onwards, the Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit starts anew. The circuit is now in its second year and, according to the MCF calendar, the first leg was organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia at the start of this month in conjunction with Federal Territory Day.

Altogether, there will be 14 regional legs which the various state chess associations are scheduled to hold. The second leg will be played in Kuala Terengganu on Feb 25, the Selangor leg in Petaling Jaya follows two days later.

The other legs in this series are Penang (March 12), Kota Kinabalu (March 26), Kota Baru (April 14), Kuantan (April 16), Kuala Lumpur (April 23), Kuching (May 1), Ipoh (May 21), Johor Baru (June 10), Malacca (June 11), Seremban (June 26), Alor Star (Aug 12) and Kangar (Aug 13).

At the end of these legs, the final will be played in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 6 and 7. For the grand final, the winners of the various regional legs will be invited to join the paying participants to compete for the grand prizes on offer.

Next month, the programmes will include a three-day inter-university chess competition organised by Universiti Telekom in Malacca beginning March 10, the 14th Royal Selangor junior open tournament for the under-12 and under-18 organised by the Chess Association of Selangor on March 11 and 12, and the second Perak International Chess Association tournament in Ipoh on March 18 and 19.

The Selangor asssociation will also hold its closed allegro tournament on March 19, followed by the 14th Royal Selangor junior open tournament for the under-14 and under-16 on March 25 and 26.

One of the main local events that many chess players look forward to is the national men's and women's closed chess championships. These two MCF events are traditionally held in December but the federation has now decided to bring them forward to the first half of the year.

Thus, the Year 2000 edition of the two championships will be played beginning on March 31 and they will continue until April 4. On April 1, the federation will also be having its annual general meeting with the main item on the agenda most likely being the biennial election of new office bearers.

Some of the other events that will take place in April are the second Chess Association of Selangor allegro open tournament on April 9, the association's third blitz open tournament on April 23 and the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia-organised Labour Day team tournament which will be played from April 29 till May 1.

May and June are similarly quite busy months for chess organisers with Chess Association of Selangor planning the most number of activities. For instance, there will be the closed under-20 team tournament on May 20 and 21, the 27th Royal Selangor open chess tournament from May 31 to June 4, the third girls open tournament on June 3 and 4, the Royal Selangor under-18 grand prix on June 11 and 18, and the inter-institution team tournament on June 24 and 25.

The MCF will not be sitting still as it has its own chess events lined up. After the national closed championship in March/April, there will be a Government versus Private Sector match scheduled for May 18, and the national youth age-group chess championship which the federation will co-organise with the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia from May 28 to 30.

Almost immediately after the end of this event, two groups of Malaysians and Singaporeans will have the opportunity to renew their rivalry over the chessboard when the federation plays host to this year's annual Malaysia-Singapore match on June 2 and 3 in Kuala Lumpur.

The other significant federation event this year will be the annual Merdeka team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Aug 31 to Sept 3.

Apart from these tournaments, there is the third Perak International Chess Association tournament in Ipoh on May 13 and 14, the Selangor Merdeka tournament which will be organised on July 1 and 2 by the Majlis Perbandaran Shah Alam, the fourth PICA chess tournament in Ipoh on July 13 and 14, the Terengganu open tournament in Kuala Terengganu on Aug 5 and 6, the Kuala Kubu Baru Merdeka tournament organised by the Persatuan Catur Kuala Kubu Baru on Aug 23, the Malay Masters tournament organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia in Bangi (Selangor) from Oct 26 to 28, and the Universiti Malaya Second College's seventh Grand Asian Chess Challenge sometime in October.

Although the MCF has done a commendable job in collating the activities of the various state chess associations into the Malaysian chess calendar, it is quite obvious that the list is not complete as some of these chess bodies have not been able to release their own calendars to the MCF.

The activities of the Penang Chess Association (PCA), for example, are not included in the federation's calendar but it is well-known that yearly, the PCA will hold its Penang Chess League over a number of consecutive Sundays from June to mid-August. There is also the Penang grand prix chess circuit, played over four legs over the course of the year and which culminates in the Penang closed championship.

Awaiting foreign flavours

CHESS enthusiasts in the country can expect some fascinating clashes between our local junior players and several veteran foreign players when they compete in an international chess tournament in Penang towards the end of next month. 

This round-robin event, which will be known as the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament, is organised by the Penang Chess Association and will be played at the CitiTel Penang from Feb 26 to Mar 5. The sponsor is Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd. 

The list of invited foreign players has not been finalised but tentatively, grandmasters Herman Ardiansyah and Edhi Handoko from Indonesia, international master Liu Wenzhe of China and Fide master Maung Maung Lwin of Myanmar have been identified. 

The other six participants in the tournament will be our local players led by international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Jimmy Liew, Fide master Wong Zijing and national champion Jonathan Chuah. Ng Tze Han and Lim Chuin Hoong, both nominated by the Penang Chess Association to play in this event, complete the line-up. 

There will not be any prize money for the winners but the champion is given custody of the Dato Tan Kim Yeow trophy. 

However, since the tournament is expected to qualify as a Category Four event, there is an added incentive for the two Fide masters and three non-titled players who can aspire to gain an international master title norm if they can score at least six points from the nine games. 

Although this shall only be the fifth time in 28 years that the Penang Chess Association is organising an international-level event, the association is confident that the Wah Seong Penang IM tournament can be the first of several more that will be held in the state. 

Selangor chess kicks off the new year 

The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organise a six-round CAS closed under-20 tournament for its members on Sunday. Registration for this event starts at 9am and the games will be played from 10am to 6pm. 

Cash prizes, millennium T-shirts and complimentary entries to future CAS tournaments will be given to 10 winners in the under-20 section and three winners in the under-12 section. Non-CAS members who wish to play in this event can contact Mrs Jackie Wong ( 03-7038237) or Lim Tse Pin ( 012-2984922) for more details. 

In the meantime, the CAS first quarter allegro tournament on Jan 16 attracted 70 participants. The open section was won by Ng Ee Vern who scored 5.5 points from six games. The players who scored five points were Law Zhe Kang, Fikrul, Rizal, Chin Ching Shiung and Terry Van Der Veen, while a further half point behind were Thaw Chee Yin, Cheah Eu Gene, Ismail Ahmad and Foong Chee Leng. 

The CAS members section was also won by Ng Ee Vern with Law Zhe Kang placed second, Chin Ching Shiung placed third, Thaw Chee Yin fourth and Cheah Eu Gene sixth. Lim Han Ying won the Best Girls section, Gerald Soh took the under-16 prize with Nicholas Chan and Marcus Chan placing second and third respectively, while the under-12 prize was won by Zarul Shazwan with Fang Chin Yao in second place and Abel Yap third. 

Also, in the first CAS closed blitz tournament held recently, there were 28 players. The winner of the CAS members section was again Ng Ee Vern who scored 6.5 points from seven games. Jointly second and third were Mok Tze Meng and Nicholas Chan with 5.5 points each, while fourth was Julian Navaratnam with five points. The other winners were Navin Pillay, Chin Ching Shiung and Marcus Chan with 4.5 points each, and Thaw Chee Yin, Cheah Eu Gene and Wong Zi Chuang with four points each. 

The under-16 winner was Nicholas Chan, with Marcus Chan second and Wong Zi Chuang third. The best under-12 player was Thaw Chee Hou, while second and third were Anas Nazreen Bakri and Mohd Kamal Firdaus respectively. 

In a Deep Blue funk over Kasparov 

FOR two years after Gary Kasparov lost to IBM's Deep Blue in the historical match between man and machine three years ago, he kept challenging IBM and the Deep Blue development team to a rematch. 

Until earlier this month, computer scientists and chess players worldwide were salivating on the anticipation that a third match would prove once and for all whether Deep Blue's defeat of Kasparov in 1997 was indeed a fluke. The only question was when the match would be played. 

These scientists and chess players do not have to wait anymore. There will not be any third match. 

According to Hsu Feng-hsiung, one of the three main programmers of Deep Blue, the rematch is unlikely to take place because Kasparov has effectively backed down from his challenge. 

About two weeks ago, Hsu released an open letter on the Internet to relate the developments after Deep Blue had beaten Kasparov in 1997. 

Hsu said that he had done everything within his power to make the new match happen, but Kasparov had not responded positively, and added that he doubted Kasparov would change his mind. 

In his open letter, Hsu said that when Kasparov challenged the Deep Blue team for a rematch at the end of the 1997 match, he believed that the Deep Blue team had a personal obligation to honour Kasparov's request. 

When Hsu left IBM a few months ago, he spent a small personal fortune to get the right to the chess chip. Officially, he was getting the right to commercialise the chess chip but his real purpose was to answer Kasparov's challenge. If Kasparov was serious about his challenge, Hsu would see to it that Kasparov got his match. 

Towards the end of last year, Hsu contacted Owen Williams who was Kasparov's agent. In his first e-mail, Hsu asked Owen directly whether Kasparov was serious about the match and whether Kasparov was indeed willing to play the match as a world title match. According to Hsu, the initial response was not encouraging as Owen ruled out the possibility of a title match immediately and was noncommittal about the new match. 

"In reality, I was not unhappy that Owen ruled out the possibility of a title match. I don't believe that a computer should be the World Champion. Personally, I believe that the title should be for humans only. Some of the potential sponsors did indicate that a match with the title on the line was certainly more desirable, although I believed that it might be okay if Kasparov was willing to state that he would treat the match as seriously as if it were a title match," Hsu wrote. 

After a long sequence of e-mail exchanges, Owen sent a message vaguely suggesting that Kasparov was not interested. Hsu now said that he then asked Owen point blank: "Can I safely assume that Gary is not interested in a match any more?" and received Owen's reply that "Gary does not want to be involved in any way." 

Hsu mentioned that throughout the entire sequence of e-mail exchanges, Owen never said a straight yes or no to his question of whether Kasparov was interested in a match. But, Hsu added, the last e-mail has only one reasonable interpretation and that was, after over two years of issuing public challenges, Kasparov was no longer interested in playing a new match. 

"I don't know the reason behind Kasparov's decision. Maybe his priority changed; maybe he felt offended somehow in my dealings with Owen. (But) it is no longer of concern to me. Even if Kasparov somehow changes his mind, the chance of a new match is now very slim," he said. 

"Given what has happened so far, it would be very hard to convince match sponsors or funding sources that the match will happen. Kasparov could change his mind yet again or come up with match conditions that are unacceptable. Anyway, I give up. I have now done everything possible to make the match happen," Hsu added. 

Hsu said that there were people who were interested in seeing the chess chip commercialised. However, he said it was unlikely to happen as the Deep Blue chess chip was not commercially viable. 

To be commercially viable, he would have to redesign a new chip but without a new match, it was difficult for him to muster the energy to create it. He said that the only chance that anyone would ever see the chess chip commercialised would be if he decided to build a Shogi (a Japanese chess game) chip someday. "Then you may see a new chess chip designed as a by-product," he added. 

Fun time at MarVista tourney

 

Game found a home among Penang schools

 

Selangor chess team on visit

 

Chess champs

 

Unity through games plan

 

Chess can help in war against drug abuse

 

Chess tourney: 95 entries received

 

Laying the groundwork in youngsters